Shanna L. Smith established the National Fair Housing Alliance’s (NFHA) office in Washington, DC in 1990. NFHA is the nation’s only private, non-profit agency dedicated solely to fair housing by promoting the elimination of all forms of housing, lending, and insurance discrimination and by promoting racially, ethnically and economically integrated communities. Under Ms. Smith’s leadership, NFHA has engaged in the nation’s most successful nationwide multi-media campaigns to educate homeseekers and housing providers about their rights and responsibilities under the federal Fair Housing Act. NFHA has also conducted comprehensive housing, mortgage lending and homeowners insurance investigations across the United States and has brought precedent-setting cases, particularly in the field of homeowners’ insurance redlining.
Ms. Smith has worked in fair housing enforcement and education for 35 years. She previously served as executive director of the Fair Housing Center of Toledo, Ohio for 15 years.